plan a modern wedding in the middle of the country

I’ve worked in the wedding industry long enough to know the guys don’t get much love. Especially when it comes to what to wear on the big day. And, color? That’s another topic I could ramble on about given most couples don’t take enough risk. I know, I know. A matter of opinion, but it’s true. Until then, I’ll leave the guy advice up to Tyler. Find out how to best dress your guys and build the perfect color story for your big day. – Brit

After choosing the perfect gown, the bride tasks her groom to set out for his and his groomsmen’s clothes comporting with their agreed upon color schema. Easy enough, right? Suits and tuxedos are just that – suits and tuxedos. Tuxedos are black. Suits are black, grey, navy blue. Maybe shades of grey and blue, but that’s easy (for this exercise, anyway). Then comes down to the ties and/or vest. In an effort to simplify, many wedding parties pursue a monochromatic theme. The bridesmaids wear color X, and so it naturally follows that the groomsmen wear matching color X. Closer and closer to the date of the wedding, almost to the point of panic, the challenge of finding a matching tie/vest for the groomsmen to accompany the bridesmaids’ dresses has proven nearly impossible! But WHY?!

As a veteran luxury men’s clothing retailer, I have witnessed the above scenario time and time again. The reason for this difficulty is simple: Each retailer has either released the current year’s collections with different color stories or if the color story is similar, the dye lots or shade variances do not match up. There is almost a guarantee of this mismatch once you cross retailer lines. The question becomes, “How can we avoid this?”

Counter to the “convenient” advancement of a color-matching scheme, we look to complements. In my previous post, I alluded to the analogy of a bouquet of flowers. Imagine your wedding party… My bet is that everyone is of different shapes, sizes, skin tone, hair color, etc. In fact, I guarantee it. The aesthetically pleasing and fanciful floral arrangement is rarely multiples of one flower or one color, rather, many different types of flowers and complementary colors. This natural diversity is in and of itself beautiful. In men’s wedding fashion, ties (bow ties or long ties), cumberbuns, vests, and suspenders may all be utilized in some form as accents of color. Perhaps, you seek to rival the equally vivacious bridesmaids dresses giving rise to an even more bombastic couple. Or perhaps, in contrast, you desire the groomsmen to project a more subdued and supportive role to the groom himself. This can all be achieved through color variety

The key in this grand scheme is to find suitable color complements to not only each other but to our surroundings. As an associate, I like to ask a lot of questions so that I may ascertain a good color story. What time of the day is the ceremony? Will it be inside? Outside? Is it rural? Urban? On a beach? What color is the sand?

It’s great when a couple can really set the style for their wedding based off of the attire their attendants (bridesmaids and groomsmen) wear. While, I’m a sucker for a man in a classic tuxedo with a bow tie, I’m quite the fan of something different. Case in point? Our groomsmen will be wearing a stone khaki colored suit (more on this in a future “My Wedding” post).

This bride and groom opted to have their groomsmen wear khaki pants with a collared shirt, sweater and tie. While, this is not a look for everyone at their wedding – I can truly appreciate what this couple is going for. It has a classic feel, with a touch of uniqueness.